Q & A: Healthy Meals on the Go

Stacy B writes:

"If you have any quick and easy meal ideas for the family, please share them with me. I am stuck for what to have for lunch and dinners. We are always on the go, so simple is best."

This one goes out to all the mommas out there- you're superwomen! You're busy! You're HUNGRY!

Putting kids in sports and activities is great, but we need to be able to feed the lil monsters, too.

I debated on what to write for this post. I had a long list of meal ideas: slow cooker recipes, soup recipes, stir fries, and salads. The thing is... we all already know that. Every googler out there can search "fast healthy slow cooker recipe" to get hundreds of scrumptious results. No, I am not going to google today.

Instead, I'm going to focus on my favorite, often underestimated meal option for busy days:

The Wrap.

Wraps are a fantastic way to combine cooked and raw foods in the same meal. They can be fancy enough to satisfy the aristocrats of us, but are also kid-friendly.

Wraps can be hot, cold, sweet, savory, cut into pinwheels for an appetizer, or noshed behind the wheel while wizzing down the interstate. (Relax. Texting is illegal; noshing is still deemed perfectly acceptable. Thank goodness.)

The best wrap has four components:

1. The Wrap
2. The Meat
3. The Stuff
4. The Smack (previously known as "The Sauce")

Here are some ideas for each category to spark your creative interest.

The Wrap:

• Chinese Rice Paper (GF)
• Corn Tortilla (GF)
• Whole Grain Tortilla
• Flat Out Wrap
• Large Lettuce Leaf (not recommended for behind the wheel noshing)
• Sprouted Grain Tortilla, like Ezekiels

The Meat:

• Grilled Chicken
• Pulled Pork
• Seasoned Beans
• Tofu, marinated and baked
• Fish (season with some lemon pepper and bake)
• Ground turkey with taco seasoning
• Seasoned Chickpeas
• Veggie Burger

The Stuff:

• Fresh spinach
• Fresh veggies
• Marinated, roasted veggies
• Brown rice
• Quinoa
• Rice noodles

The SMACK:

• Hummus
• Olive Tapenade
• Guacamole
• Viniagrette
• Salsa
• Terriaki/Soy Sace (Tamari for GF)

**Remember, wraps can be hot (folded and heated "quesadilla style") or cold!

Here are a few of my favorites:

The Elvis (great for breakfast):

Almond or peanut butter, cinnamon, and a banana or apple slices, wrapped up in a flour or corn tortilla

Spring Wraps:

Fresh, julienne-cut veggies (carrots, cucumber, avocado, cabbage, red pepper), brown rice, tofu (or chicken), and brown rice, rolled up in rice paper and dipped in sauce made with peanut butter thinned with tamari and water

Roasted Veggie Wrap:

Large whole wheat or spinach wrap, rolled around roasted veggies and hummus. Would be great with grilled chicken!

Pulled Pork Tacos with a twist:

Season some pulled pork jamaican jerk style, adding a can of chopped pineapple. Construct tacos as usual, using plenty of fresh veggies to garnish!

Chickpea Tacos (click for recipe):

For heftier dinner appetites, make it a "chickpea burrito" by adding some Mexi-Brown Rice: Just mix brown rice with a small can of chopped tomatoes and taco seasoning to taste.

So many options...the list is endless. Get Crazy.

What is your favorite quick and easy meal?

Do you often eat on the go, or do you like some time out for chewing?

Peace, Love, and Veggies,

Bee Louise

Have a nutrition-related question? Leave a comment or send your thoughts to Bee Louise's Bites at wright.brittany87@gmail.com

Q & A: Healthy Mexican Food Choices

This week, I received the following question from FOODPICKER.ORG:

“I have type 2 diabetes and love Mexican food. Could you give me some tips on what to order at my favorite Mexican restaurant?”

-Alan V.

The irony of this question, Alan, is that I am chomping on a homemade “burrito bowl” as we speak. Let me tell you, it is delicious. Let's talk Mexican!

Mexican food actually can be quite healthy. The traditional dishes are based on a trifecta of mouth-watering meats, vibrant veggies, and buxom beans. Top all that off with a spritzle of spice and you’ve got yourself a Mexican feast that would make any tastebud sing.

Since the goal of Type II Diabetes is weight management, the trick is to know how to do some savvy menu navigation.

Healthy Mexican food is available, and you will find that it is often among the most flavorful choices! When ordering, try these tips:

• Order menu items “a la carte.” By avoiding the beans and rice, you will save many unnecessary calories and fat
• If ordering a side of beans, ask for the whole beans, rather than refried. Refried beans are often prepared in lard.
• Instead of ground beef, try the chicken, pork, or vegetarian entrees.
• Avoid the taco salad. This seemingly healthy entrée is usually loaded with beef, sour cream, and cheese, and is served in a deep, fried shell. Calorie overload.
• If eating at a sit-down restaurant, ask for no chips to be brought to your table. (From personal experience: I have yet to sit at a table with tortilla chips and not house those babies)
• As a condiment, try ordering extra salsa, and skipping the sour cream.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for your meal with extra veggies! (Fajitas with extra peppers/onions, tacos with extra lettuce/tomato, etc) This will fill you up and give you a healthy dose of vitamins and antioxidants.
• Although avocado provides healthy fat, the portions provided are often massive. Ask for your guacamole on the side, so you can control how much you’d like.
• In general, avoid menu words such as “crispy, fried, refried, cheesy.”
• Instead, choose menu items that are baked, grilled, or use a soft tortilla.
• I have yet to meet a healthy chimichanga. My advice is to avoid.
• Mexican food portions can often be quite large. As soon as your food gets to the table, box up half to go. Out of sight, out of mind.

Hope these tips help, Alan! Hasta Manana!

Peace, Love, and Veggies,
Bee

Gluten Free Grains, and the Day I Invented a New Word (re: FREEBIE)

Today some little fairy dropped an article from this month's Today's Dietitian into my work mailbox.

I'm the only gluten freebie (new word) out of our internship class, so our director does a nice job of taking care of me :) She's wonderful!

Anyway, I thought the article did a great job of focusing not only on what gluten free people can eat, but how they should be eating to maximize nutrition. Predictably...I want to share!

Gluten freebies are either illergic to or cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye products. Eating a gluten free diet is harder than one might anticipate, since gluten can be hidden in so many foods: broths, malts, bases, seasonings, beer, food thickeners, dressings, etc).

You Freebies know what I'm talking about. Quite the pain.

To our elate, many new "gluten free" products have arrived on the market. Buying these clearly marked "gluten free" foods can seem like a breath of fresh air compared to scrutinizing food labels.

However, this article did a great job of emphasizing that many Freebies are low in carbs and important minerals usually fortified into the gluten-containing products.

Don't panic, Freebies. We can still be just as healthy...maybe healthier. It just requires a lil' time and a whole lotta love. (Okay...mostly just a lil' time. But whole lotta love never hurt anybody)

Even though special, white-breadish gluten free products make great special-occasion snacks, we need to remember to focus on our unprocessed, whole food choices for staple foods. These can include grains such as corn, quinoa (see recipe from 2 days ago), millet, amaranth, teff, or buckwheat.

Confession: Honestly, I don't know what half of those grains off that list are. Corn and quinoa are about the extent of my cooking comfort.

So, here's to expanding my gluten free grain horizons. It should be easy enough, as cooking instructions are usually printed right on the packages. I will if you will.

Freebie Power.

Peace, Love, and Veggies,
Bee Louise

New Legislation Labels Calories on Fast Food Items

You know what today is?!

...not Monday! :) :) :) I love Tuesday- mainly because of Biggest Loser. Jillian Michaels is my homegirl.

The topic of the day is a touchy one: politics. (Oh, yes she did)

In March, the House of Representatives passed a health reform bill requiring all large restaurant chains to display calorie values next to items on their menus, both in-store and on drive-thru displays. The law also applies to vending machines (I can't imagine the fits this caused some people. Cough FritoLay cough)

Beyond calorie labeling, restaurants will also be required to offer additional nutrition information on request.

Display of nutritional information will still be voluntary for smaller businesses or daily specials.

Restaurants are required to be in accordance with this bill by 2014.

My first reaction is to be all about this guy. However, there are two sides to every issue, and I want to present both, because they definitely have merit.

Pros

• Growth in dietitian jobs (dietitians gotta eat!)
• Easier food allergen identification
• Incentive for food manufacturers to produce healthier items
• Enhanced information for glycemic control in people with diabetes
• A hope that people will make a healthier choice by choosing lower calorie foods

Cons:

• Foods are not always standardized. Differences in preparation or accidental cross-contamination may lead to mislabeling
• Consumers may not care. We are still not sure whether knowledge of calorie content will actually influence consumer choice.
• Even if they do care, consumers may want to eat food and enjoy it without being confronted with the nutrition implications of their meal
• Many food manufacturers argue that this legislation promotes the "good food/bad food" frame of mind, rather than a "everything in moderation" frame of mind.

While I do understand both sides, I'm leaning in favor, but I want to hear your opinion.

Do you agree with mandatory menu labeling for large restaurants?

If yes, do you think it should be required for small businesses as well?

If not, why not?

Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday, everyone, and please let me know what you think!

Peace, Love, and Veggies,

Bee

Recipe: Quinoa Pie

Hola!

I had plenty to talk about today. Then I ate dinner, and it left me...

...speechless.

So, instead of whatever I was going to say, I am going to pass on to you this gem of a recipe from Martha Stuart Recipes, veganized by moi. (As always, gluten free friendly)

Quinoa Pie with Butternut Squash

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, havled crosswise, and seeded
• 18 fresh sage leaves, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped sage
• 1/2 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup quinoa (I used TJ's red quinoa...so pretty against the orange squash!)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush baking sheet with 1 t oil. Cut 5, 1/4 in. thick rings from the squash; cut remainder into 1/4 in. dice. Place squash on sheets. Toss with 1 t oil. Sprinkle with 12 sage leaves. Bake about 15-20 mins, until tender. Let cool, and keep oven on.

Heat remaining t oil in md saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until onions are translucent. Add quinoa and stock; bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 mins. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 2 minutes.

Stir together quinoa, diced squash, chopped sage, salt, and pepper.

Coat a 9-in glass pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange 6 sage leaves facedown in plate; top with squash rings. Press quinoa mixture on top.

Bake 20 mins. Let cool 5 mins, then invert onto serving platter. Serve wedges warm or at room temperature.

It comes out almost like a savory, upside down cake! Very easy, but super impressive looking.

Most importantly? Delicious.

Way to go, Martha

Peace, Love, and Veggies,

Bee

Q&A: Whole Wheat Vs. Rye or Sourdough

This week, I received the following question from FOODPICKER.ORG:

"My husband has diabetes and we always eat whole wheat bread but wanted something different for a change. Is rye bread or sourdough bread as good of an option as whole wheat?"

-Sheila T.

Whole wheat bread is the "golden standard" of healthy breads for one reason: it contains more fiber.

Fiber in foods delays gastric emptying and speeds up intestinal transit time (translation: keeps you fuller longer and helps keep you "going" regularly).

Fiber is found in the bran of the grain. Processing often removes this bran (i.e, removing fiber). This is the reason the words "whole grain" usually denote a healthier choice.

In general, sourdough bread is lower in fiber than whole wheat bread, while rye bread is often the same or higher in fiber.

When in doubt, check the Nutrition Facts label.

Keep in mind that despite the fiber content, carbohydrate content across breads will be similar. For a person with diabetes, 15 g carbohydrate is usually equivalent to 1 carbohydrate serving and approximately 1 slice of bread.

Go do a few label comparisons and enjoy those sandwiches, Sheila.

Peace, Love, and Veggies,

Bee

Recipe: Veggieversary Chickpea Tacos (GF)

This weekend, my best friend is celebrating her VEGGIEVERSARY!!!!!

Since we share clothes, she came over for a lunch date/to find some saweet outfits for the weekend. I got right to work strapping on my pretty apron and making something phenomenal for lunch.

Oh. It was PHENOMENAL.

If you try nothing else on this blog...please. Try these. (Vegetarianism not required.)

Chickpea Tacos w/Homemade Guac:

• 8, 6-in. corn tortillas
• lettuce
• tomato
• 1, 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• taco seasoning (I used this recipe for GF-I always use McCormick's spices)
• tamari sauce
• lemon juice
• favorite salsa (I used tomatillo salsa)
• homemade guac (recipe follows)
• fresh cilantro

Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Prepare homemade taco seasoning (GF), or use a package (not GF). Combine chickpeas, seasoning, tamari, and lemon juice. Spread evenly over cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes- until chickpeas are crunchy on the outside, but have a slight "give" on the inside.

Guac that Rocks (Ha...):

• 1/2 avocado
• 1 T fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 lg clove garlic, minced
• salt/pepper
• lime juice (~1 T)

Prepare guac by smashing all ingredients together. Warm corn tortillas by microwaving for about 20 seconds between 2 moist paper towells. Assemble tacos using chickpeas, lettuce, tomato, salsa, guac, and a sprinkle o'cilantro.

*Makes 2, 4-taco servings (Yes...4 tacos. The girls can eat!)

Moan.

Do you have a recipe that you think is absolutely, blow your socks off phenomenal? Share with me please!!!

Peace, Love, and Veggies,
Bee Louise